Incredibly frustrated

Been working on the Onan in my skid steer for weeks. Had a valve issue to start with and some said they had issues with the valve seats coming loose and an overhaul kit was $1200.00 without the valve problem or machining. So first I bought a used engine. Well that didn't work out. So then I took mine apart to see how bad it was. Turned out it was good inside except needed the valves ground. So I took it to an engine guy and he did the valves, honed the cylinders and put new rings in it. Got it back and it ran great except for a massive oil leak from somewhere behind the engine. This was a massive leak where the oil ran off the engine and on the ground. Would lose a quart in less than an hour. So I took it out and thought it might be the oil filter housing that allows the remote oil filter. So I resealed that. Nope, not it. Ok, took the motor out again and looked but couldn't see where the oil came from. The problem is the fan blows the oil all over so everything is covered. So I took it back to the engine guy and he thought that since he didn't pull the flywheel and change that seal and gasket maybe that got damaged when he worked on the other side. So we pulled the flywheel and did that side. Put the motor back in and still leaked. So I pulled it out again and took it back and today we took it all apart and checked and resealed and put in new gaskets. Put it back in and still leaked. At that point I was very unhappy! So I took it out again and put it on the bench and hooked it up to run. Didn't take long to find the leak then. Was the new oil pressure sending unit I put on. Oil was just running out of it. Dang that was a lot of work and time for a new part that was bad. So tomorrow I'll get another sending unit and try that. If tomorrow night you see a large fire near Grasston Mn, just never mind! Lol

If it still leaks plumb a gauge in

Just be glad you found it and easy fix

Sometimes it works that way but hang in there. Winners never quit! and quitters never win!

.

The winner pretty much sums it up

As my wife will say when I get into a similar situation, remember, your having fun!!

Love that song! When it comes to this Onan I think I'm the big guy kinda winner. If I actually win in the end. I'll certainly be all beat up. Lol.

Man that stinks but at least you figured it out

I had a similar issue with my Skag one year out of warranty, there was a hidden oil drain plug that came loose. I pulled the engine assuming the seal was shot, could have fixed the plug from above if I knew it was there.

Ouch!

My good pickup has an electrical gremlin, it goes into limp mode every so often, other times the throttle pedal becomes unresponsive, or the chrck engine light comes on.

Acted up 18 months ago too. Took third try before the issue seemed to go away.

Took it to the repair fellas, they brought it back 3 days later. I drove to the end of driveway, and it went into limp mode. And did again every mile I drove.

So, on Monday took it back to the repair guys. That was a week ago Monday..... haven’t heard a thing.

I like my repair guys, this is one of those stupid gremlins hard to track down.....

So I’m driving my old beater pickup that I should barely be driving in summer. Well, with temps below zero and winds up to strong, heck the wind blows through the rust holes. The rear tires weren’t much, one went flat, now the spare is slow leaking and the other rear is pretty smooth as well.

I hate to put 2 tires into it, would more then double the value of the truck, but it looks like I need to be using it and it’s a safety issue now, so need to find a couple tires. Not sure anyone sells good used any more, liability issues. My coop used to back in the day, when they handled tires.

Paul

I rebuilt a f150 motor. The lifters were boxed wrong or built a bit under sized. I worked on that motor for 2 weeks trying to figure out why it would not hold oil pressure at a idle.

I don't care for all the sheet metal on those Onans but I've had good luck with the two I've got in Wheel Horses. First one I bought for $700. in February from a guy moving South. He wanted 1300 but I convinced him nobody else was going to buy a garden tractor in the middle of the winter. That ones going to turn 2000 hours the second time I mow lawn this summer. The other one was advertised with a 48 inch deck and blown motor for $495. I was just buying it for the deck. When I had it loaded up the old guy said aren't you taking the other parts, nobody told me he had nice blower and snow blade for it. Any way the motor wasn't blown, both head gaskets were. It's a strong runner with 1200 hours on it.

I guess that answers the question of why the skidsteer was cheap. Glad you figured out the problem.

I thought I was the only one to have unusual problems like that!

The 2 speed on my CX-100 Case worked intermittently when I bought it 12 years ago. I traced the wires and thought I found the problem. Worked for a week then not. took it to dealer. He fixed it and it worked for a week. Then not. Oh now it does. Two months later, now it don't. Take it back to dealer but it starts working before I get there. They keep replacing switches and wires and send me home. I have literally thousands of dollars sticking in that two speed. One time when it quit working during planting they sent a guy out to the field to catch it in the act. He took it apart said he fixed it. It worked every time until he left. 5 min. later it quit working. Last summer I asked them if they could fix it or not? They said they could and it will not cost me anymore money from here on in. They fixed it and sent me home. Month later and it is doing exactly what it did 12 years ago and many thousand dollars ago. They have "fixed" it 8 times now and nothing has changed. I'm scheduled to bring it back in next month.

It sticks better when you learn it like that.

That might be but there’s a lot of things I wish hadn’t stuck so good

That’s how about everything I do goes

Many, many years ago, when I worked at a shop that did marine work, we pulled a V-8 engine to overhaul. We couldn't do it so sent it out. Got it back, installed in boat. Very low oil pressure at any RPM. Took a week of fooling with that thing to determine the rebuild shop had installed incorrect cam bushings. The cam was undersized from the factory, I think, and they put standard bushings in it. Once the bushings were replaced with the correct ones, it maintained 50 PSI oil pressure. I guess they didn't run it or check oil pressure when they rebuilt it. Customer was finally happy! zuhnc

I'll bet you are getting really good and R & R that engine ! I had something similar with an Onan in a JD 318 with starter issues. I got really fast and R & R that engine.
On my last small engine with a massive oil leak after cleaning it all up I pressurized the crankcase through the dipstick tube and a blow gun and easily saw the rear main seal and oil sender leaking.

Ran into a lot of that kind of stuff over the years doing small engine/snowmobile/dirt bike work. Some days you just wanted sit in a corner, slit your wrists and be left alone to bleed out in peace. LOL!

Years ago I had trouble with an old Wisconsin engine in my skid steer. It was a similar scenario as yours and i pulled the engine out and dismantled it four times before I got it to run right.
First time I pulled it and tore it down took me a week. Final time it took 75 minutes from the time I drove it into the shop till the engine was out and totally dismantled on the bench.

Practice makes perfect!

Those old type motors are why the newer small diesel have become so popular.

Frustrating for sure, but I'd take a $5 fix over some of the other possibilities I was thinking as I read this...

I had a day like that yesterday. I was trouble-shooting my solar panel voltage controler. The 5 transistors tested shorted out. So I had to dismantle it and de-solder each transistor one by one. Each transistor checks out good. What the hay? All that work for nothing and I still don't understand what happened. I was feeling very frustrated too. But I just have to think; even my worst day is better than like someone in China locked up in a work factory where they have to put bars on the Windows to keep the workers from jumping out to commit suicide.
I think of this song on days like this.
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